A Founder of Manitoba vs A Father of Confederation

Macdonald’s determination throughout Confederation displayed his strong desire for Canada to have its own identity and autonomy. This not only proves his worthiness of recognition, but also demonstrates the strongest parallel in his and Riel’s lives; their devotion to the independence and the rights of their people.[…] Although Riel’s devoutness was to a smaller group of people, his actions eventually altered as many Canadian lives as Macdonald’s. When Rupert’s Land was sold in 1869 and William McDougall, a Protestant, was appointed as Lieutenant Governor, the Métis population took action and formed the Métis National Committee in hopes of negotiating with the Macdonald government to conserve their culture. This committee soon became the provisional government of the Red River and Riel was appointed as president. The provisional government’s negotiations with the Macdonald government soon led to Manitoba being declared as an officially bilingual province.